Agenda item

To include:

·  WECA rural transport issues and bus franchising – requested by Timsbury PC

Councillor Warren updated the meeting.

Our Young Stars Awards

These aim to recognise and celebrate the outstanding achievements of extraordinary young people in the area. They complement the Community Awards, which are hosted by the Chair. The closing date for nominations for Our Young Stars is 21^st November 2018, and presentations will be made at a Gala Awards Dinner on 9^th March 2019. Nomination forms can be downloaded from http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/ouryoungstars.

The deadline for nominations for the Community Awards is 21^st December 2018. Nominations can be made online at: http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/services/neighbourhoods-and-community-safety/local-awards/chairmans-community-business-awards. The awards will be presented at an event on 27^th February 2019.

Influencing Central Government

A document is being prepared for November Council, which sets out our key “requests” to central Government. These include proposals for a tourism levy and for rebalancing contributions made by business, so that online retailers pay their share and we can raise money to invest in our High Streets.

The document will be available at the end of the month, and I encourage you to have a look at it and consider adding your voice to support change. I need to stress that this is not just about asking for more money, but about us being self-sufficient.

The document can be viewed and downloaded from: https://democracy.bathnes.gov.uk/documents/s53251/Appendix%20-%20Influencing%20central%20government.pdf

WECA and Rural Transport

We know there is a great deal of concern about reductions in rural bus services. WECA are in the process of developing a Bus Strategy, which will be announced on 30^th November 2018. This will include all issues relating to the bus network, so is worth watching out for.

Some more good news on rural transport is a proposal from Clutton Parish Council to create a new community transport service connecting Clutton and other villages in the Chew Valley and Somer Valley to Bath and the Park and Ride. Other parishes, including Camerton, Dunkerton and Timsbury have also expressed interest. We are working with the parishes on the details of the proposal, which would be funded by Section 106 contributions. The aim is commence operation of the service, which would be licensed to call at public bus stops, from August 2019.

Our aim in working with WECA is to get some common sense proposals “on the ground”. The work to be done at Bence’s Garage complements the Two Headed Man improvements, and will definitely ease access in that part of the world by addressing a “pinch point” on the road network. (See http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/services/parking-and-travel/transport-plans-and-policies/a39-junction-improvements)

Improvements on the railway will include a half-hourly service from Severn Beach to Westbury. It is hoped that increased train frequencies at Keynsham and Oldfield Park will be possible.

I also want to flag up the current air quality consultation, on which there is an item later on tonight’s agenda. The proposal covers central Bath, but there are benefits from it for the whole of B&NES.

Councillor Mark Shelford (Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment) said that the work at Bence’s Garage should be completed in November. WECA has very helpful and will be supporting the next B&NES tram feasibility study. This will be done as part of the Mass Rapid Transit Project, sponsored by Bristol, which has two parts, Bristol Airport – Bristol TM and Bristol TM– Bath. The Bristol TM – Bath section will now be given priority, because there are concerns about the cost of the section from Bristol Airport, as it may have to go underground, while the Bath section is technically much easier. A feasibility study will be required. He was keen that when the Clean Air Zone came into effect in Bath to see additional investment for buses in rural areas.

Leonard Sheen, Chairman of High Littleton PC, said that as from the previous weekend the service on the 718 bus had been reduced by half. There would now be no service between High Littleton and Bath on either Saturday or Sunday. He asked how additional services to High Littleton would be created by the Clean Air Zone. Councillor Shelford replied that it would be challenging, but the Council was committed to working with central Government on finding solutions.

Chris Warren, Chair of Saltford PC, said that on Points West recently a First Group spokesman had said that First can do almost nothing to improve bus services in Bristol and Bath, because the roads are full to capacity. Yet hundreds of additional homes are being built in Keynsham and Bath, and thousands of additional people are moving into Bath. There is a real danger of gridlock. There is now talk of a new Mass Rapid Transit network, but such a thing already exists: the railway. Saltford has been campaigning for a new station for a long time. The local MP is very supportive and the community wants it. Yet we are hearing various reasons why the station is not going to be built, such as the difficulty of timetabling trains. It seems ridiculous that there is going to be an unmanageable increase in traffic, while there is a sensible solution available, the reinstatement of the station that was closed in 1970. He asked why the Council was not supporting the reinstatement of Saltford station. Councillor Tim Warren responded that Chris Warren had attended a meeting at which Network Rail had explained there was insufficient line capacity to allow trains to serve a station at Saltford. There is no point in spending money to build a station at which trains cannot stop. If Network Rail said that a train service could be provided to the station, the Council would support it. He was convinced that the right approach was through WECA; if the Mass Rapid Transit Project came to fruition, it would allow a greater number of intermediate stops to enjoy a higher frequency of services.

Chris Gittins, Clerk of Timsbury PC, said that at their next parish meeting there would be a discussion on reductions in the 179 bus service. One option that might be considered would be to set up a community bus service before August 2019, when the 179 bus might be withdrawn completely. If the 179 continued after August, the community bus could be in competition with a commercial service. He asked if Councillor Shelford could dispel the uncertainty. Councillor Shelford said that he could not promise that the Council would continue to subsidise the 179. Matters would be clearer after the WECA bus strategy had been finalised. It had been agreed that the strategy should start with a clean sheet and not simply try to replicate the inherited pattern of bus provision, but be based on where people live and travel now. That analysis is currently being done. He was strongly in favour of the Council providing subsidies for bus services, because his experience of living in different parts of the world had taught him that public transport systems do not work unless they are publicly subsidised.

Leonard Sheen, Chairman of High Littleton PC, said that rural communities were going to be very adversely affected by reductions in bus services, but it appeared no additional support would be available for rural areas from the Council until at after 2021, if they were lucky. It appeared that the Council was only interested in the City of Bath and that Parish Councils were expected to make up shortfalls by increasing local levies. The City of Bath has no local councils, but the parishes fund many things in Bath. Councillor Tim Warren pointed out that he was a North East Somerset resident. If Bath was split from North East Somerset, Council Tax in North East Somerset would increase. The Council is under significant financial pressure, however the Council was exploring new sources of income and becoming self-sufficient.

Ron Hopkins, Vice-Chair of Westfield PC, said that there was a large horseshoe-shaped swathe in the south of B&NES, which included Westfield, Radstock, Midsomer Norton and many villages, which had no green belt and would not benefit from high-speed trains or trams, but where there will be a lot of new building served by roads and infrastructure that have not changed much since 1958. He urged the Council to give more consideration to rural communities.